Anyone get a widescreen LCD for gaming and regret it?

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Ike0069

Diamond Member
Apr 28, 2003
4,276
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Just curious if people that have gone widescreen...for gaming....are happy with the decision. Or is it more of a PITA than it's worth.

I'm thinkging of upgrading to an LCD and I'm seriously considering widescreen. This is mainly a gaming PC so another big concern is the native resolution.

A 19" will let me play at 1280x1024, but a 20.1" widescreen (I belive this is the smallest widescreen) want 1600x1050. I think my 6800 GT will have truouble playing some of the newest games at this resolution.

Thoughts?
 
S

SynthDude2001

Lifer
Mar 19, 2003
18,289
2
71
I got my 2005FPW about 14 months ago (maybe closer to 15, I forget) and I've been extremely happy with it. I :heart: widescreen gaming, and I've not really run into any problems getting games to run in widescreen (some require some config file hacking or some such thing, but most can be modified with minimal effort). I have a 6800GT too and it's definitely going to be inadequate for playing any new games at 1680x1050 (it already is inadequate for FEAR at that resolution), but you can always do what I did and set up a custom resolution of something like 1280x800 (also 16:10) for games which are too slow at native resolution...LCD resolution scaling is really decent these days, and I have no problems playing at that lower resolution if the game is so demanding that it requires it.
 
nitromullet

nitromullet

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2004
9,031
36
91
No regrets here. If I was to do it all over again, I would - only bigger.

You can also get 19" widescreens too, their rez something like 1440x900.
 
G

Gomce

Senior member
Dec 4, 2000
812
0
76
6800GT cant handle the latest games at that resolution
But You have a great machine so, just lowering shadows to minimum and using 2AA will get you 90% there, so..
Myself, I have 20.1 Philips 1680x1050 and its my primary PC gaming screen. Its awesome.
Another PC uses 37" LCD tv goodness (LG, 1360x768) and for racing sims, RPG games and casual sofa experience is unbeatable :)

So, no regrets on this end. My primary work area is 19" hyndai (L90D+) with 2 17" LCD samsungs (174T) in portrait mode on each side of the 19" as satellites. Very cheap yet highly effective configuration for the work I do. (reusing the 17" that I got 2+ years ago and just added the 19" this year) all with 1280x1024 rez.

 
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Vinnybcfc

Senior member
Nov 9, 2005
216
0
0
No regrets (2005fpw) expect I need a more powerful card even the 6800 doesnt really cut it, some games are a pain in the arse (EA ones) but every other game recent game is native or can be easily modified to
 
K

KutterMax

Member
Sep 26, 2004
168
0
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I have a Dell 2450 and love it. I even still run my old Samsung 19" LCD as a second montior to get even more screen real estate.

However I also have a 6800GT which means playing at the native resolution of 1920x1200 is a challenge. However I mainly play World of Warcraft, and this runs great at 1920x1200. For most other games I have to scale it back.

I'm hoping to upgrade to a dual-core AMD with SLI soon, so this should have some benefit.
 
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Caecus Veritas

Senior member
Mar 20, 2006
547
0
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couldn't be happier with the decision to go widescreen (2405). After using this monitor, i don't think i would ever go back to using the 4:3 5:4 monitors. The caveat, however, is that, as you mention, you will be forced to upgrade your video card faster than your peers if you want to maintain high IQ and resolution :)

Also, keep in mind that your monitor will typically outlast all your other computer parts (except for your floppy drive...and maybe keyboard). I think it makes sense to buy the best monitor you can afford as it is one of the most important component in a computer (i.e. you will stare at it 24/7 for the next however many years). You may not be able to enjoy the highest IQ or FPS at the moment, but your computer parts can always be and will be upgraded sooner and more often.

Cheers!
 
R

RobertR1

Golden Member
Oct 22, 2004
1,113
1
81
My 2405fpw is easily my favorite part of the system. What good is a high end system if you can't SEE the results!? No regrets here.
 
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Ike0069

Diamond Member
Apr 28, 2003
4,276
2
76
Well it seems that widescreen is the way to go. I'm still leary about running that resolution on my current VC, but I I'm thinking even thouhg I might have to sacrifice a few goodies, widescreen play will make up for it.

Other than the Dell 2005, what are some good gaming widescreen models that are moderately priced(<$450).
 
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Caecus Veritas

Senior member
Mar 20, 2006
547
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0
the sticky post (on top) has very extensive information on different models. You can also go to Widescreen Gaming Forum to check out user reviews of different models. I've heard users having problems with backlighting on Dell 2005s. Can't recall the model, but there was a favorite among users (viewsonic or something..) that has extremely good response times and other goodies.
:thumbsup:
 
Bartokomus

Bartokomus

Golden Member
Mar 15, 2002
1,430
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well i do *love* my 2005 i do have to say it is frustrating have so many games which don't natively support WS
 
akugami

akugami

Diamond Member
Feb 14, 2005
6,210
2,552
136
I regret buying my Dell 2001FPW monitor. Right after I bought it for $600 the prices dropped to roughly $500 average. I shoulda waited. Faaarrrrrrkkkkk!!!!! Other than that, it's a great monitor. This coming from someone with a 21" CRT.
 
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Sunrise089

Senior member
Aug 30, 2005
882
0
71
OP - if you go widescreen you will like it, and almost certainly not regret it, as others above have posted.

You will also be at a fixed resolution, which requires a more frequent GPU upgrade. You will also be widescreen, which as you stated normally involves more pixels than a 5:4 LCD, therefore even more frequent GPU upgrades. Plus the LCD may cost more in the first place to get widescreen. If I may, take a look at a refurb Sony FW900 CRT. People like to hate on CRTs, but I will direct you to the person above who decided the way around having to upgrade your GPU in order to use the display's native resolution was to run it at a lower resolution stretched as my answer to anyone who claims CRTs result in lower quality.
 
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Ctrackstar126

Senior member
Jul 14, 2005
988
0
76
Only downside I have had from widescreen is I spend more time in frony of my computer. Also I hate looking at other CRTs. Its one of those once you go back things.
 
R

rei

Member
Dec 2, 1999
123
0
71
as an alternative viewpoint, i don't care for widescreen gaming as much i do portrait gaming

i'm about to get a $40us ergotron flex stand to rotate so i can play mame/raiden/cave shooters :)
 
ElFenix

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,402
8,574
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Originally posted by: Ike0069
Just curious if people that have gone widescreen...for gaming....are happy with the decision. Or is it more of a PITA than it's worth.

I'm thinkging of upgrading to an LCD and I'm seriously considering widescreen. This is mainly a gaming PC so another big concern is the native resolution.

A 19" will let me play at 1280x1024, but a 20.1" widescreen (I belive this is the smallest widescreen) want 1600x1050. I think my 6800 GT will have truouble playing some of the newest games at this resolution.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

you can run the game at 1280x1024 on the 2005. i do it all the time because a lot of games have really crappy widescreen support, or i feel like i've got knight's helmet vision (looking out through a horizontal slot)
 
A

Ackmed

Diamond Member
Oct 1, 2003
8,499
560
126
No, I dont regret it. The only thing I dont like about WS gaming, is when lazy devs dont support it.
 
I

Ike0069

Diamond Member
Apr 28, 2003
4,276
2
76
Originally posted by: ElFenix
Originally posted by: Ike0069
Just curious if people that have gone widescreen...for gaming....are happy with the decision. Or is it more of a PITA than it's worth.

I'm thinkging of upgrading to an LCD and I'm seriously considering widescreen. This is mainly a gaming PC so another big concern is the native resolution.

A 19" will let me play at 1280x1024, but a 20.1" widescreen (I belive this is the smallest widescreen) want 1600x1050. I think my 6800 GT will have truouble playing some of the newest games at this resolution.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

you can run the game at 1280x1024 on the 2005. i do it all the time because a lot of games have really crappy widescreen support, or i feel like i've got knight's helmet vision (looking out through a horizontal slot)
Click to expand...

When you play at 5:4, does it stretch the screen, or put black bars on the sides?
 
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